Putting a new spin on 'Android gamers', users of Google's platform in the UK can now enjoy a free peer-to-peer marketplace app, designed to cut out the price-gouging rates of high-street trade-in deals.

Jiggster offers gamers a forum in which to barter directly with each other, sorting deals by product, genre, and location, and with payments made either in-person or through PayPal.

Fair trade

The app has enjoyed almost 4,000 downloads since launching as beta a few weeks ago, with 2,900 active users picking over 1,300 deals. The in-built chat functionality has seen over 1,400 message exchanged as part of marketplace negotiations.

"As a fanatical gamer, I got frustrated at seeing the value of my games being destroyed by the existing trade-in options," said CEO Neil Ghosh. 

"We developed Jiggster as a simple solution to enable gamers to get access to new games from like-minded peers, and make their own, fair, trading deals."

This proactive approach to changing the retail landscape has already attracted serious attention, with ZAG, the venture-capital arm of global branding giants Bartle Bogle Hegarty, providing £150k of seed capital to the start-up. Neil Munn, Global COO of BBH, is confident of Jiggster's prospects.

Transformation

"With our help as a global communications and marketing agency and Jiggster’s unique solution that makes bartering games fun and instantly gratifying, we believe Jiggster can establish itself at the forefront of this transformation," he detailed.

"The UK gaming industry is undergoing a transformation from a retail and hardware perspective, resulting in a great opportunity for new global brands to emerge."

Ghosh has since launched a CrowdCube initiative to secure further funding. "To share our growth and take Jiggster to the next level, I hope to find both passionate gaming evangelists and equally passionate investors," he said. "We believe Crowdcube is the best platform for them to take part in our venture and help make the service even better."

Jiggster is currently available on open beta on Android, with a rollout on iOS expected soon.